They’ll talk the walk

The Eastern Sierra MountainFest is all about being small -- no easy trick with a lineup of big-name mountaineers Chris Bonington (shown below), Rick Ridgeway, Conrad Anker and Jimmy Chin. Somehow this Friday and Saturday fest in tiny Bishop, Calif., manages to shoehorn in presentations by these four -- in slides, film and still shots -- plus one on mountain photography by Gordon Wiltsie and one on Alaskan ascents by Jack Tackle. Add a free panel discussion on climbing issues in the Eastern Sierra, book signings, preshow mixers and a free MountainFair featuring gear and other exhibitors, and the schedule is almost as dizzying as high-altitude air. Who shows up? About 300 people -- some serious climbers, some armchair mountaineers, some “mini-historians and book collectors” and some from the bouldering community, “young kids, almost like granite-loving hippies,” volunteer Mike McWilliams says. Key evening presentations include “Chang Tang Traverse: Galen Rowell’s Last Expedition,” with perspectives from Anker, Chin and Ridgeway, who accompanied the now-deceased photographer on a 2002 crossing of the plateau in northwestern Tibet (7 p.m. Saturday). Bonington presents “Boundless Horizons,” a retrospective of his life of mountaineering (7 p.m. Friday). This is only the second year for the nonprofit festival, which raises money for several organizations including Inyo and Mono Search and Rescue. Tickets for shows range from $10 to $30 each; $75 for a full-weekend ticket. For more information, go to www.mountainfest.org or call (888) 395-3952.